narrominded
My pal Reed Hughes called
me a few days before the golf
team and I were going to the Old
Waverly Invitational graciously
hosted by The Bryan family, Old
Waverly and of course the Mis-
sissippi State Bulldogs. Reed had
a Titleist demo day scheduled
at Old Waverly the same day
we were driving up from Ham-
mond. He suggested we try and
play the newly opened Mossy
Oak golf course across Waverly
drive.
Reed generally doesn’t have
too many good ideas but this
turned out to be quite the gem.
We get into town and check
into our cottage on the 10th hole
at Old Waverly. What a spot, but
that’s for another time. I take the
guys over to the Bulldog practice
facility adjacent to Mossy Oak.
We check into the hunting
camp style golf shop and away
we go. The terrain for the course
was a perfect canvas for architect
Gil Hanse to create his master-
piece. My first impression was
the course reminded me of the
Olympic course in Rio also de-
signed by Hanse. Lots of closely
mowed areas framed by native
areas waiting to run your score
up.
As I bogey one and Reed
makes routine par, we make our
way to the second tee and tee off
with about 10 horses watching us
from the neighboring property.
The course looks wide open as
there’s definitely a links type feel
to it. However, any loose shot will
be penalized as the native grass
and perfectly placed bunkers are
waiting for the wayward shot.
I really enjoy this style of golf
where the ball is played along
the ground. There are very few
forced carries, and there are
plenty of chances to bounce the
ball onto the greens. Around the
greens is closely mowed, so many
options for short game shots are
available to the player. False edg-
es and contoured greens are the
main defense of the course as
one’s touch on the short shots
will be tested.
As the day went on, Reed and
I began to understand how spe-
cial the course is and will mature
to be. Elevation changes are part
of the property. From the seventh
tee box, you can see the entire
golf course and what a beautiful
site it is.
As we made the turn, Reed
had found his groove with his
swing and especially putting
stroke. A near hole in one on
the short par three ninth did me
in on the front side. I took time
out to take the guys back to our
cottage where they started in on
cooking dinner. I love this trip as
we all get to stay together and
do our own cooking. Lots of fun
and lots of team bonding.
The back nine is as good as
the front and the fun holes just
kept on coming. The par fives for
we normal golfers aren’t reach-
able until you get to the 17th.
However, two short par fours,
number 3 and 10, give the ag-
gressive player the opportunity
to “go for the green.”
Perhaps the best hole was the
last. A demanding, long par four
with a green that features a false
front. A sharp drop off to the
right of the green awaits those
playing away from bunker and
water hazard on the left.
The most interesting part of
the day was when I learned the
mission of the course by the part-
ners. As I mentioned Gil Hanse,
George and Marcia Bryan, and
Mossy Oak have preserved and
protected all natural habitat of
the property. Mossy Oak is a pi-
oneer in preserving natural habi-
tats across the country. Gil Hanse
is a leading golf course architect
and his work is known for also
being environmentally sensitive.
And of course the Bryan family
have been instrumental in devel-
oping a world class facility for
the people of our area.
The threesome have collab-
orated on not only a wonderful
golf course but also a approach
to golf course design and main-
tenance to follow. Stay and play
packages are available, and I
highly recommend you adding
this trip to your bucket list.
Jake
Jake Narro, PGA professional, head golf coach at
Southeastern Louisiana University and Backspin
publisher
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